Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Buys 6,401 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 127.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,401 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $173.97. 349,519 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,938,781. The business's fifty day moving average price is $186.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.71. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,044 shares of company stock worth $836,000. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.